


The Interlude

by watermelonriddles



Series: It's A Date [3]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 12:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20097049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: [Beth] thinks back to when she and Rio had told [Marcus] about the trip to the aquarium and how excited he had been, claiming that he knew exactly where the sharks and the dolphins were and he would show her. He had been so adamant about it that it really felt like Beth’s heart had melted.“I know you had somewhere important to be,” Beth says softly, gently poking his belly and earning a laugh in response. “Your dad showed me them.”Marcus looks over his shoulder at Rio who raises a brow. When the little boy looks back, he shrugs a little, smile in place. “Good. I told him to.”“Oh, did you now?” Beth asks, earning a nod that makes her laugh. “I have to say, I think you would have done a better job.”He leans forward, dropping his voice to a whisper that really isn’t that much of a whisper. “Me too.”“A’ight, come on,” Rio says, reaching out to nudge Marcus gently with his foot. “We’re here to eat not to gang up on me.”“I thought we were here for Ms Beth?” Marcus asks and it's innocent but Rio looks like all of his secrets have been spilled and he groans.





	The Interlude

**Author's Note:**

> So, this wasn't originally what I had planned for the next part of the _It's A Date_ series, however, I wrote this piece and figured it would fit in nicely here so I added it in. :)

Beth can feel Annie and Ruby watching her as she pours herself another drink before sitting back on the couch between them. She pretends to be completely focused on the episode of Real Housewives that they’ve put on but it’s impossible not to take notice of the way they’re looking across at one another. Still, she forces herself to stare straight ahead while she sips at her bourbon and even lets out a laugh as she watches the TV.

“Oh, come on, Beth,” Annie whines. “I’ve held off asking for the past few days, please, just spill it.”

“Spill what?” she asks, still keeping her attention on the TV although it’s almost impossible not to smile when Annie groans in frustration.

“Your pizza date with Rio!”

She shrugs. “I called you and told you things were fine.”

“That was right in the middle of it,” Ruby points out, finally joining the conversation and seeming just as eager for details.

“And we all know,” Annie starts, drawing a circle in the air between them with her finger. “That you didn’t come home until the next morning.”

“I know I said you could help yourself to my food and whatnot,” Beth says, looking between the two of them. “But I didn’t mean for you to stay over.”

“You’re just upset you were caught out,” Annie remarks.

And she’s not entirely wrong. There were definitely parts of her date with Rio that Beth hadn’t been expecting to happen, that’s not to say she wasn’t glad they happened but she was definitely unprepared and she was even less prepared to actually talk about it with someone else. She was still very much reveling in the bliss of it all the morning after and she wasn’t entirely sure she could string together a coherent enough thought let alone have a full-blown conversation about it. In fact, she had barely said more than a few words to Rio before they parted ways and she drove herself home. It also didn’t go unnoticed by her that she hadn’t really heard from him since.

“Nothing happened,” Beth tried.

Ruby scoffs. “You’re talking like you didn’t give him eyes across a bar and then lead the way to the bathroom so you could-”

“Alright, alright,” Beth cuts in, waving her off. “So _something_ happened.” Both of them give her a look as if to continue and she rolls her eyes a little. “He was very… _Giving_.”

“What do you-” Annie begins to ask but then her eyes go wide. “_Oh!_”

“So, what you’re saying is, is that homeboy don’t talk much but his mouth is useful for other things?”

Beth opens and closes her mouth for a moment as she stares at Ruby but before she can say anything, Annie chimes in. “So how many orgasms?” Beth turns to her sister and gives her a look of disbelief. “Please tell me it was at least one. He _has_ to beat Dean.”

And that finally knocks Beth out of a state of shock as she begins to laugh. Being intimate with Dean hadn’t exactly been the most well-balanced part of her life. In the beginning, the sex had actually been halfway decent but she was sure that that was probably due to her lack of experience more than anything. It also didn’t help that it was really the only time she ever got something out of it. Outside of actual sex, when they were being intimate, there was never a single moment where Beth got all of the attention and it never really bothered her until now.

“Two,” Beth says quietly because if she’s being honest, she’s a little angry at herself that it took her _this long_ to actually think of herself but then the memories of being on her back, Rio’s head between her thighs, come rushing to her again. Now the only thing she can feel is positive so when she speaks again, she talks a little louder than before. “And yes, his mouth is very useful. His hands too.”

“Knew it,” Annie says a little triumphantly as she settles back into the couch.

“You practically lost it when you found out I slept with him,” Beth reminds, grimacing a little at the memory. “It was kind of brutal actually.”

“Yeah, well, like we said yesterday…” Annie gestures to her vaguely. “Genuinely happy.”

“And that was _before_,” Ruby says, giving Beth a pointed look. “Can only imagine what it was like after the fact.”

“I don’t know,” Beth admits. “I barely had a chance to breathe in-between and by the second time… Well, I’m pretty sure I passed out for a minute.”

“Well, it’s about damn time really and I guess it’s not entirely bad that it was with gang friend,” Annie says and while Ruby doesn’t verbally agree, there is a slight nod from her.

Beth sighs before sitting forward. She takes a gulp of her drink and sets it down on the coffee table. “It’s more than that. With Dean, things were so one-sided and if it ever fell on my side, he’d want something in return, you know? But Rio just… _Didn’t care_. It was like he was satisfied just knowing that _I_ was satisfied.”

“So he really just took care of you, huh?”

And Beth almost laughs as the wistful look on her sisters face. “Yeah. And there was this slow build-up as well where we just kissed a lot and afterward we just… We slept.”

Ruby raises a brow. “How was _that_?”

“Sleeping with him?”

Annie scoffs and shoves her. “Yeah. I mean, sharing a bed with him, that’s gotta be a little weird, right?”

“His bed is comfy,” she says but catches the look on their faces. “And _he’s_ comfy, alright? We just kind of meshed together really well.”

“Christ, B,” Ruby mumbles and Beth blinks at her a little before it turns into a slow frown. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“The man gave you two orgasms,” Annie points out as she holds up to fingers as if to prove her point. “And you’re talking like your favourite part was cuddling with him afterward.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say it was my _favourite_ part,” Beth mumbles, a blush finally starting to creep its way up. “But it was certainly up there. It was just nice to actually be able to do it. Sex in a bathroom doesn’t leave room for it and the time after that, well, I kicked him out of bed immediately after.”

“B, the cuddling is fine,” Ruby assures her. “In fact, it’s a definite improvement on kicking him out.”

“But…?”

Annie laughs and gently pats her shoulder. “Sis, you told us on the phone that you liked him and once again, you’re talking like it’s more than just attraction and a good time every once in a while.”

“We thought that maybe it was because you were drunk, y’know?” Ruby says softly. “Butclearly drink had nothing to do with it.”

“He heard me say that,” Beth says quietly.

“Wow,” Annie breathes out as Ruby says, “how’d that play out?”

“Well, he didn’t seem mortified or anything and it was after that that he suggested I maybe stay the night.”

“I want to say that’s a good sign,” Annie says and Ruby hums in agreement. “Did you ask him? If he likes you or if he’s playing you?”

“He said he isn’t humouring me or anything.” The two of them both grin at each other so Beth hurries on. “But I didn’t outright ask him if he liked me back. It felt too juvenile and wanting to know what was actually going on with us felt like it could ruin the moment.”

“Alright, so just go with it for now,” Ruby says as if it’s simple. “Just be prepared for what might happen.”

Beth chews on her bottom lip, nodding her head a little. She could do that. At least that’s what she tells herself as she swirls the contents of her glass. Maybe that had been her problem with Dean, rushing into everything and wanting it all at once. Eventually, it had all come crashing down and no amount of trying would have ever fixed it. Maybe the trick this time would be to take things a bit slower and not get so hung up on the little details or how to define it.

Before she can be bombarded with any more questions, her phone begins to ring, making the three of them jump. She catches his name flashing across the screen and instantly stands up. The two of them watch her as she steps away from the couch and picks it up.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” His voice is gentle and it makes a shiver run right up her spine. “It’s been a minute.”

“Yeah,” Beth says because she doesn’t quite know what else to say.

“There was work to deal with,” Rio explains and she thinks for a moment that he’s going to leave it there but then he keeps talking. “Then I got Marcus. To make up for my ex having him on my weekend.”

“Oh.” And she wonders what it must be like for things to be that easy. “That’s really nice. I bet he was happy.”

“Yeah, we got a lot done.”

She catches Annie and Ruby watching her curiously and when the former mouths _‘who’s he?’_ Beth deliberately turns her back on them. “Is he there now?”

“Uh-huh, got him all weekend.” There’s a pause. “Wanted to see you though.”

“Well, you still could.” When there’s no response, she hurries on. “I mean, maybe I could cook this time and you could come here. Marcus too.”

And just as she begins to think it’s the wrong thing to suggest, he speaks. “Tomorrow?”

“Sure,” she agrees. “Around six? My kids won’t be here though, turns out they all have social lives and I’m going to be on my own. Well, _was_.”

That makes him laugh, loud and bright and it makes her heart flutter. She’s not really exaggerating either. All four of them somehow ended up with sleepovers on the same weekend. Jane and Emma were going to be at the same one which was useful and Kenny was old enough that he had done this a hundred time over and then some.

Really, the four of them being elsewhere for the night didn’t come with as much worry as it used to but still, she couldn’t help but notice how empty the house was when they were gone, especially when she couldn’t just video chat with Dean to see them. Calling to talk to them while they were with their friends was apparently uncool according to Kenny and the other three had latched on to the idea. She always called the other parents to check-in, but more often than not she never got to speak to her children once she dropped them off until she picked them up the next day.

“Good thing you’re gonna have great company tomorrow then.”

“Yeah, Marcus really is wonderful company.”

“Oh. _Harsh_.” But she can hear his smile.

She can’t help but laugh a little, even despite the knowing feeling that Annie and Ruby both still have their eyes on her. “Any foods you object to?”

“Nah, pretty much everything is a sure thing with the both of us.”

“Tomorrow.” Not a question.

“Tomorrow.” A confirmation nonetheless.

* * *

By the time six o’clock rolls around the next day, Beth is pretty much ready. This time there hadn’t been much reason to spend ages figuring out what to wear so she settled for a pair of jeans and her burgundy sweater. Her main issues was figuring out what to cook and considering how long it took to get her kids ready and dropped off at their sleepovers, she ended up opting for pasta to help take away some of the tension of having to cook.

She has the pasta to straining over the sink and is just finishing heating up the sauce she made a little earlier when Rio and Marcus both come through the front door. While they shrug out of their coats and deposit them on the bench close by, Beth switches the pot off and turns to face them. They’re almost matching and her stomach twists a little at how cute it is. Both are wearing jeans (Marcus in blue, Rio in black) and the pair of them have on dark grey t-shirts.

“Hi, Ms Beth,” Marcus calls out as he runs forward, stopping right in front of her as he looks up. “I missed you.”

He says it so simply like it’s nothing yet everything all at once, in a way only a child can and it’s impossible for her not so smile. She crouches down in front of him, hand on the counter to steady herself. “Well, I missed you, too.”

For a moment he seems to be proud of that fact but then the corners of his mouths slowly turn downward. “Sorry I couldn’t see the sharks and dolphins with you.”

She thinks back to when she and Rio had told him about the trip to the aquarium and how excited he had been, claiming that he knew exactly where the sharks and the dolphins were and he would show her. He had been so adamant about it that it really felt like Beth’s heart had melted.

“I know you had somewhere important to be,” Beth says softly, gently poking his belly and earning a laugh in response. “Your dad showed me them.”

Marcus looks over his shoulder at Rio who raises a brow. When the little boy looks back, he shrugs a little, smile in place. “Good. I told him to.”

“Oh, did you now?” Beth asks, earning a nod that makes her laugh. “I have to say, I think you would have done a better job.”

He leans forward, dropping his voice to a whisper that really isn’t that much of a whisper. “Me too.”

“A’ight, come on,” Rio says, reaching out to nudge Marcus gently with his foot. “We’re here to eat not to gang up on me.”

“I thought we were here for Ms Beth?” Marcus asks and it's innocent but Rio looks like all of his secrets have been spilled and he groans.

“Yeah, pop,” he says. “But also the food.”

Beth shakes her head as she stands up, trying not to smile. “Marcus, why don’t you go through to the dining room? Your dad and I will get the food.”

He turns to her, looking completely lost for a moment as to what’s going on before he hurries off into the dining. She can hear the sound of the chair being dragged away from the table as Rio closes the space between them. She backs away from him carefully until she’s right up against the counter and then he’s right there in her space, hands on the counter either side of her, caging her in.

“So which is it?” He raises a brow at her question and she looks away for a moment, unable to stop herself from smiling. “The food or me?”

Rio looks her up and down for a moment. “There a difference?”

She hits his chest. “Your son is in the other room.”

“That mean we gonna save dessert for another time?”

“Insatiable,” she mumbles with a slight roll of her eyes.

He laughs, leaning in to kiss her as he does. She lets him, leans in a little, kisses him back but pulls away before he can do much of anything else. She grins at him before turning in his arms so she can reach up into the counter and grab three pasta bowls.

Once she has the three of them spread out on the counter, Rio brushes her hair aside and kisses the back of her neck. “Can’t believe my kid is here on what could be our third date,” he says, breath fanning out across her skin, making her shiver.

“Well,” Beth starts. “I’d much rather Marcus’ company anyway.”

Rio spins her around suddenly, eliciting a gasp from her but when their eyes lock, there’s a twinkle behind his and the corners of his mouth are beginning to turn upwards. She gives a slight shrug and a look as if to say: _you know it’s true_. He just shakes his head at her.

“Harsh,” he says, repeating the words from yesterday right before he kisses her.

Again, she kisses him back just enough before pushing him away softly. “Can you get the pasta, please?”

There’s another shake of his head at the innocent tone she puts on but he does do as she asks. With a little more space, she turns the stove back on. Stepping to one side, Rio drops the pasta bit by bit into the pot while Beth stirs it into the sauce.

“I made pesto,” she says, suddenly feeling worried. “Is that okay? I figured considering we had it on pizza, it would be fine?”

He’s clearly trying not to laugh. “Ma, it’s fine. Looks great actually.”

“It better taste just as good,” Beth huffs. “I’ve never made it before.”

“Well, I’ll be honest with my review, yeah?” He waits for Beth to dish the pasta out before he gathers all of the dishes they’re done with. “Unless you value my kid’s opinion more?”

Beth picks up two of the bowls and shrugs. “Maybe I do.”

She can hear him laugh, surprised and sudden, behind her as she carries the bowls into the dining room. She sets the smaller one down in front of Marcus who beams at her and ushers a very quick but genuine ‘thank you’ before he starts to blow on it to try and cool it down faster. As Beth pops her plate down, there’s the running of water and she steps back into the kitchen to see Rio rinsing off the dishes and leaving them to soak.

When he’s done, Rio pours some apple juice for Marcus, taking it into him along with his own plate of food while Beth sorts out their water. By the time she brings both glasses in, both of them are waiting for her. As her eyes linger on Marcus, swinging his legs back and forward, waiting just as patiently as his dad, she’s pretty sure she could cry because she knows for sure none of her kids would have waited for her to get back.

“You didn’t have to wait,” Beth tells them both as she sits down. She’s at the head of the table with Marcus and Rio situated either side of her.

“Pop’s idea,” Rio says, trying to hide a smile behind his glass as he takes a drink.

“It’s polite,” Marcus supplies although he keeps eyeing his food.

“You’re right,” Beth says, unable to suppress her own smile. “It is. Thank you for waiting.”

He looks eagerly at his food and then back to her with a soft smile that turns into a grin when she nods. For a moment, she just watches him as he eats. Although she had only been half-joking before, Marcus’ opinion did matter a little more. It struck her earlier, while she was trying to figure out what exactly to cook, that this would be the first time it was just the three of them. Somehow it had never happened and it made her nervous. Normally one of her kids would be there to play with Marcus and keep them occupied.

It’s silly really, she knows that. It’s really no different from when she’s usually with him but this _does_ feel different. Maybe it’s the two dates she’s already got under her belt with his dad. By the time she tucks in, Marcus has only stopped long enough to drink his juice so she suspects its good enough for him.

“Pop, you can slow down,” Rio says between laughs. “It ain’t gonna go nowhere.”

He just about manages to swallow the mouthful he has before he speaks. “It’s good though.”

“Well, make it last then.”

Beth tries not to laugh at the way Marcus pauses and seems to really think that over. After a moment, he continues eating only this time he puts less on his fork and takes his time chewing it. 

“You got your positive review,” Rio comments.

She glances his way. He’s eaten a good portion of it already so she figures he hasn’t got many complaints either. “And your verdict?”

“Didn’t think it mattered,” he says, face completely straight but she can just about see the corners of his mouth turn up.

Beth rolls her eyes a little. “No need to be jealous.”

That actually does make Rio laugh, so loud in fact that Marcus looks startled for a moment before he suddenly smiles despite not knowing what’s so funny. Beth shakes her head a little, focusing back on her food as the two of them grin at each other across the table.

* * *

They mostly ate in silence after that and while Beth cleared away the dishes, Marcus and Rio plated up the brownies she had made and scooped some vanilla ice-cream on top. They ate that in silence too, except when Marcus exclaimed that they were the best brownies he had ever had to which Beth grinned and Rio just rolled his eyes, a smile already forming.

After dinner, they stayed at the table for a bit and talked. Beth leaned on the table, head propped up on her hand, listening as intently as she could while Marcus talked on about school and his latest obsessions which was mostly robots although he did talk very passionately about dinosaurs for a good length of time. It was actually all the kind of things she had heard before but still, when Rio tried to interrupt, Beth waved him off, claiming she wanted to hear more.

It had earned her a groan and Rio reaching under the table to squeeze her thigh. After another ten minutes of eager talking from Marcus, she decided to cut Rio some slack and suggested they move over to the couch and watch a movie. The Iron Giant to be more specific, a choice that _had_ to be done once Beth realised that Marcus had never seen it. - _You like robots and you’ve never seen the Iron Giant?_

For the most part, it’s a hit. He’s glued to the screen the entire time but they’re ten, maybe fifteen minutes, from the credits when he can no longer stay awake and falls asleep on the couch. When the credits finally do roll and they’re both sure he actually is asleep, Beth and Rio both slowly edge themselves off of the couch and tiptoe into the kitchen where the former pours them both a cup of coffee. While Rio hops up to sit on the counter, Beth leans back against the island across from him.

“So that third date?”

It’s so straight forward that Beth chokes a little on her coffee. She takes a couple more sips to try and mask it, hoping to calm her urge to cough. When she looks at him, he’s placing his cup down on the counter beside him and giving her a questioning look.

“Who says I want a third date?” And she’s proud of the way her voice remains steady.

The way he looks her up and down already makes that blush start to form and going by the way he smiles at her, it’s just as obvious as she suspects it to be. “Oh, I got some pretty telling indicators.”

“Well…” She clears her throat a little and looks down at her coffee so she doesn’t have to look at him. “Maybe you should actually ask me. Something more specific I mean.”

“A’ight, you and me…” He trails off for a moment before ultimately deciding. “Dancing.”

Her eyes dart up to his. “Dancing?”

He nods, his roaming over her once again. “I know you can. This time it’ll be somewhere actually built for it. Not my apartment.”

“You’ll have to tell me where we would be going,” Beth says. “So I can get a dress or something.”

Rio hops down from the counter and closes the space between them, caging her in like he had done earlier. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “And don’t worry about no dress.”

“If this is your way of telling me you’re taking me to some kind of nudist event, I have to say, that’s not really my thing.”

He looks at her like she’s unbelievable. “Just don’t worry about it. We’ll figure out a day and time. I’ll pick you up. Don’t need to worry about the rest.”

Before she can argue, he’s kissing her and this time she leans into it. He’s pressed up against her, an arm around her waist, and she’s got her hands on his chest, fingers curling into the material of his t-shirt. The kiss - his lips more specifically - feels just as soft and good as she remembers and she allows herself to get lost in this one.

Too lost in fact because suddenly there’s a gasp from behind them and they both turn to see Marcus standing there. His mouth is wide open and Beth can feel Rio tense up although he doesn’t release his grip on her. 

“Is Ms Beth your girlfriend?”

She can feel the heat creeping up the back of her neck as she turns back to Rio for a little help. The tension seems to have left him as he looks between them. After a moment, he shakes his head and pulls away from her to head over to Marcus.

“Nah, pop.” Beth turns around and leans on the counter to watch as Rio crouches down in front of him. “We going on another date though.”

“But she’s not your girlfriend?” And the poor kid looks so confused. Rio nods his head in confirmation and Marcus leans in, dropping his voice ever so slightly. “You want her to be, right?”

And Beth tries not to laugh because once again, he’s not being as quiet as he thinks he is but she pretends to be interested in her coffee and acts like she hasn’t heard a thing. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Rio turn his head a little like he’s tempted to look back at her but he doesn’t.

“How’d you feel about it?”

“Good,” Marcus says instantly. “I like her. She’s nice and lots of fun.” And after a brief moment, he adds, “and she’s pretty.”

Rio lets out a soft laugh. “She is, isn’t she?” Beth can’t help but smile at the way Marcus grins and nods his head eagerly. “A’ight, well, we’ll see what happens but this is our secret, yeah? Gotta impress on this date.”

“Get her flowers,” Marcus says, once again in that whisper that’s not quite a whisper.

“You think that’ll work, huh?” Rio asks which earns him a look as if to say: _of course, dad. _He and Beth both laugh a little at that. “I’ll remember to pick some up but I think it’s time we headed home.”

Marcus pouts a little but ultimately gives in with a nod before wandering into the kitchen to grab his coat from the bench. Once it’s on, he heads back towards the couch to get his shoes. Beth tries not to smile as Rio come over to stand beside her. On the one hand, her heart _is_ freaking out a little, hammering against her chest in anticipation of whether Rio will bring up what just happened but then she remembers what Ruby had said to her the day before - _‘just go with it for now’_ \- so she wills her expectations to simmer down a little.

“Can’t believe my kid exposed me like that.”

“I’ll have you know,” Beth says, trying to sound as serious as possible although her smile really ruins the image. “We won’t be going anywhere if you show up to our next date without flowers.”

Rio groans. “This kid, I swear.”

“It’s fine, I know they say the wildest things sometimes. They’ve all got great imaginations,” Beth says as he goes to grab his coat and pulls it on. “I got four, I should know.”

Right as Marcus comes back into the room, Rio leans into her slightly. “None of that was just his imagination.”

She opens her mouth to ask what he means by that exactly but she doesn’t get the chance as Marcus comes right up to her. This time when she crouches down in front of him, he wraps his arms around her in a tight hug.

“Thanks for the food, Ms Beth.”

Beth wraps an arm around him to hug him back. “You’re very welcome.”

“I missed the end of the movie though.”

“That’s a good thing,” she says, earning her a confused look. “Means we’ll have to watch it again sometime.”

Marcus grins. “Yes, please.”

He hugs her once again but this time when he pulls away he heads towards the side door which Rio is holding open. When Beth stands up, she catches Rio’s eye. It’s a look she’s not quite sure how to describe. On the one hand, he looks amused but on the other, it’s like he’s trying to figure something out.

“Night, Ms Beth,” Marcus calls right before he steps outside.

The look on Rio’s face turns to that of pure amusement. “Yeah, night, Ms Beth.”

She’s too breathless to say anything so she’s thankful when he turns away and steps outside, shutting the door behind him. After a moment she’s able to move and she locks the door, pressing her forehead against it with a soft groan as she does. Yeah, just going with it really wasn’t going to work out.


End file.
